Teaching Development Programs

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Workshop participants engage in small group work.

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(Photo credit: Chris Soldt, Media Technology Services)

In August 2025, the CTE will launch two free, non-credit-bearing programs that prepare graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for teaching careers in higher education: the Foundations of Teaching (FT) Program and the Certificate in College Teaching (CCT) Program. These programs are open to all current Boston College graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Once participants have completed the FT Program, they can decide if they want to continue on to the CCT Program.

This page includes an overview of both programs. When the programs officially launch, we will add a self-enroll link to the Canvas site for both programs on this page. In the meantime, please email cte-gradprograms@bc.edu if you have any questions or want to be notified when the Canvas site becomes available.

These new programs replace the Apprenticeship in College Teaching (ACT) Program. Anyone who attended ACT Program workshops will be able to transfer that credit to the new programs. Take a look at the for more information.

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A workshop participant takes notes. (Photo credit: Chris Soldt, Media Technology Services)

Program participants have the opportunity to 1) learn about the course design process and see examples of how other instructors have designed components of their courses, 2) gain a basic familiarity with findings from the research on how students learn and how belonging influences learning, and 3) engage in interdisciplinary conversations about teaching and learning with their peers.

The program can be completed at the participant鈥檚 own pace, and everyone who meets all program requirements will receive a letter of completion and be listed on the CTE website.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the Foundations of Teaching Program, participants will be able to:

  • Critically reflect on their own teaching and learning experiences
  • Describe the three stages of backward design and evaluate how well course components align with one another聽
  • Identify course components and evidence-based pedagogical practices that support all students' learning

Program Requirements

Complete an orientation module in Canvas:

  • Read some introductory content
  • Submit a program registration form, research consent form (research participation in optional), and brief initial reflection

Attend five required 75-minute interactive workshops:

  • Course Design
  • Student Belonging
  • Assignment Design
  • Grading
  • Active Learning

Submit a reflective essay and complete a program survey

Program Deadlines

Letters of completion are sent out in batches via email three times a year, with submission deadlines in July, October, and April. Current deadlines can be found on the program Canvas site.

The Certificate in College Teaching (CCT) Program is for all Boston College graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who have completed the Foundations of Teaching Program. Program participants will have the opportunity to 1) deepen their pedagogical knowledge, 2) examine how power dynamics can manifest in the classroom and impact student learning, and 3) engage in disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations about teaching and learning with peers and a faculty member.聽

Like the FT Program, the CCT Program can be completed at the participant鈥檚 own pace. Everyone who completes all program requirements will receive a letter of completion, be listed on the CTE website, and be invited to the Graduate Student Teaching Recognition Ceremony, where they will be presented with their certificate of completion.

Learning Outcomes

In addition to the outcomes listed for the Foundations of Teaching Program, by the end of the Certificate in College Teaching program, participants will be able to:

  • Translate principles of effective teaching into a variety of teaching and learning contexts.
  • Critically reflect on their course design and teaching through the lens of critical pedagogy.
  • Design an inclusive, transparent, and aligned syllabus, drawing on principles of course design and research on how students learn.聽
  • Articulate their approach to teaching in their discipline in a teaching philosophy statement.

Program Requirements

Program Start:

  • Read the orientation module in Canvas
  • Register for and attend a synchronous orientation session
  • Submit a research consent form (research participation in optional)

Additional pedagogical knowledge requirement:

  • Deep Dive: Attend two or more hours of eligible CTE programming
  • Critical Pedagogy: Read a critical pedagogy text and submit a reflection on Canvas.

Observation requirement:

  • Option #1: Have a faculty member observe you, meet with them afterward to discuss your teaching, and submit a brief reflection about the experience
  • Option #2: Observe a faculty member, participate in a microteaching session at the CTE, and submit a brief reflection about both experiences

Teaching artifacts:

  • Submit an annotated syllabus and a teaching philosophy statement

Program Completion:

  • Complete a final reflection, participate in an exit interview, and complete a program survey

Program Deadlines

Certificates of completion are printed once a year, in preparation for the Graduate Student Teaching Recognition Ceremony. The submission deadline is at the end of February. The current deadline can be found on the program Canvas site.

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